Chapter 94
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Sea
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Crunch, crack! Thud, thud!
“…….”
Gye Dusin was still taking the beating.
Even drunk out of his mind and barely able to stand, he curled up to minimize the impact and even dodged now and then.
A fine youngest disciple of the Beggars' Sect Leader, indeed.
Maybe it was a habit from begging while getting beaten, but Gye Dusin was taking his hits with remarkable realism.
Sorry, Dusin.
I don’t have time, and I’m not smart enough to think of any other way.
Still, they probably won’t kill you. They’ll show leniency since you’re a warrior of the Righteous Martial Alliance and the Sect Leader’s youngest disciple.
Sure, you’ll get dragged off and beaten some more... but hang in there. I’ll sneak you some grub.
Was it because he felt Yu Hyun’s gaze?
Gye Dusin looked up at Yu Hyun with hazy eyes, locking gazes.
Captain... why are you doing this to me?
You said for the sake of the goal, we shouldn’t hesitate on means or methods.
Who did?
You...
When did I ever... I’ve never said anything like that...
“…….”
Yu Hyun coldly turned his head away from the sight of Gye Dusin, eyes fully glazed over, being dragged away like a ragged sackcloth.
He had only done as instructed.
Of course, it was something from a distant future that even he himself didn’t remember.
In any case, another preparation was complete.
Yu Hyun methodically sorted out what needed to be done next.
By now, Nangong Seong would be at the infirmary, checking on Gok Jaheon, who had fallen into qi deviation.
A cure for Jang Se-yong?
Just an excuse to get into the infirmary—there was no such thing. A quack who couldn’t even make a weight-loss pill wouldn’t know it.
But he already did know.
It had been discovered back then, after countless renowned martial artists were lost to the minions of the chaos leaders, and passed down intact to him, tasked with stopping the chaos.
He just needed to confirm the symptoms.
If Gok Jaheon had fallen into qi deviation due to their conspiracy, Nangong Seong had been told the solution, so he would save him.
Meanwhile, Gye Dusin—forced(?) into prison—would meet Yang Lim, the Wol Clan leader, and relay news of the remaining tribesfolk.
They wouldn’t be happy with him for invading their sacred territory, but that smooth-talking little bastard would surely convince them.
He had that much skill. After all, he was one of my masters.
“Alright, my turn now.”
So Nangong Seong could examine the patient away from prying eyes.
So Gye Dusin could start with the Wol Clan and rally the six tribes once more.
Just in case, he’d spread rumors about the Thousand-Year Purple Shell here and there, but there’d been no reaction.
By now, quite some time later, they must have heard of Cheol Jin-bang Leader Na Ha-chu’s death—connected to him and the Latent Dragon Squad—yet they hadn’t bitten.
If they weren’t reacting to the Thousand-Year Purple Shell, the conclusion had to change.
Hwang Deok-sam, Na Ha-chu, Haenam Island. The roots might all lead to one chaos minion, but the branches were different.
Even in a strictly hierarchical organization, it was hard to know the exact dealings of a parallel branch.
Well, that made sense. They hid themselves so secretly to begin with.
From the current situation, at least three subordinate organizations under the suspected minion.
Plus the ones from An-hui who’d chased him, so four?
Maybe even more. In that case...
“Damn, these complicated bastards are giving me a headache.”
Yu Hyun’s lips twisted in irritation.
Keep it simple. Complication didn’t suit his nature anyway.
What did it matter how many there were? Haenam Island was the immediate problem.
If the Thousand-Year Purple Shell ploy to draw them out had failed, he’d use another.
The Thirty-Six Stratagems taught by the Heavenly Mechanism Diviner.
He’d always told him: You’re not the sharpest, so just master these.
That damn master. How brazenly he’d said it... Just wait till I see him. I’ll pay it back in kind.
Anyway, what was the first of those thirty-six stratagems?
Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Sea.
The target: the Hwan Clan, betrayers of the tribes.
Even if sudden, didn’t he have ample reason to visit?
Gye Dusin had committed a grave discourtesy(?) against his daughter and been hauled off, so as captain, he naturally had to plead for his release.
Using them to escape and draw the main fortress warriors’ eyes to himself—that was deceiving the heavens.
Meanwhile, Nangong Seong would find the conspirator’s right-hand man, and Gye Dusin would unite the six tribes’ power around the Wol Clan—that was crossing the sea.
Alright, let’s stir up a ruckus and see what snake rears its head when the grass is flushed.
* * *
“Who’s come?”
“The Latent Dragon Squad Leader is here.”
“The Latent Dragon Squad Leader?”
Hwan Clan leader Yeo Eung-seo’s brows furrowed deeply.
What reason would this man—whom he’d only glimpsed once at the main fortress audience hall—have to visit him suddenly?
“What’s the reason?”
“He says he’s come to apologize for a wrongdoing by one of his subordinates.”
“What? Wrongdoing?”
Yeo Eung-seo cocked his head sharply, and the reporting warrior cautiously spoke.
“It’s... related to the young lady...”
“Related to Sun-i?”
“Yes. At the marketplace...”
“…….”
As the warrior explained the marketplace incident, Yeo Eung-seo’s face twisted savagely.
A Latent Dragon Squad warrior dragged to the main fortress prison?
“This wench! I told her to stay composed, and she pulls this again!”
Yeo Eung-seo clenched his fist on the table and bellowed.
With her wedding to the new island lord approaching, he’d warned her to watch even falling leaves. To be demure, ever demure.
Yet why did she keep causing incidents?
And against a Latent Dragon Squad envoy to Haenam Island, no less?
Even if it was the other side’s fault, she hadn’t suffered any real shame as a woman, so just accept the apology and be done—dragging him to the fortress prison over a mere bump?
Was she already acting like Haenam’s lady of the house?
The other tribes’ gazes weren’t kind to begin with...
“This mad wench...”
“What shall we do?”
“What do you mean what— No, wait, no.”
“…….”
Yeo Eung-seo quickly calmed his anger, drumming his fingers on the table in thought.
By betraying the tribes and siding with the new island lord, the Hwan Clan was openly shunned.
But that was nothing major.
Being rejected by the islanders wasn’t new, and ousting Wol Clan leader Yang Lim—that thorn in his side—had been enough.
There was reason behind offering his daughter to the new island lord in loyalty.
Because he was an outstanding match? Hardly.
The bastard who’d done that to his father and brother. No different from a filthy traitor.
But in plotting grand schemes, one looked not to immediate gains, but twenty, even thirty years ahead.
Far in the future.
If his daughter bore Gok Ja-seong’s child, barring disaster, that child would become Haenam Island lord.
His position as maternal grandfather would solidify, and he could take the six tribes’ leadership in place of the Wol Clan.
When his grandson became lord, Haenam Island would be fully in his grasp. All that wealth and power.
He’d pledged loyalty with that rosy plan in mind, yet the real benefits had gone to the island lord’s guard, the Returning Wind Squad.
All he’d gained for his betrayal was one harbor, snatched from the Myo Clan.
Damn Returning Wind Squad. Teaching the lord from early on, wielding unchecked power right at his side.
Since when did they have authority over the tribes, bossing them around?
His dreams of glory had shattered. Recalling how he’d bowed to them, Yeo Eung-seo ground his teeth.
And now, from the Righteous Martial Alliance, no less. Leader of one of their warrior squads, even.
How could his heart not stir?
From what he’d learned of the man at the fortress, he was from a family with close imperial ties—depending on how he played it, the gains could multiply.
Having cut ties with the new island lord, he couldn’t rely on him anymore. Time for self-reliance.
A connection to the Righteous Martial Alliance would give him power equal to the Returning Wind Squad leader.
Then his rosy future could revive.
“Where is the Latent Dragon Squad Leader?”
“He’s waiting outside for now.”
“What? How thoughtless! Guide him to the reception hall at once!”
“Yes, Clan Leader!”
After barking at the warrior to leave, Yeo Eung-seo hastily straightened his robes and rushed to the reception hall.
* * *
“Welcome. I am Yeo Eung-seo, leader of the Hwan Clan.”
“I’m Yu Hyun.”
“What brings the busy Latent Dragon Squad Leader all the way here?”
At Yeo Eung-seo’s question, Yu Hyun smiled inwardly.
Pretending not to know, huh...
But this guy’s reaction was ridiculous.
Any father who dotes on his daughter would have at least a flicker of rage in his eyes, no matter how rotten the girl.
Yet from the way his eyes darted, his daughter was clearly an afterthought.
Probing his emotions with a subtle release of inner energy...
Greed—for profit?
This crazy bastard’s calculating gains right now?
No wonder he betrayed the tribe leaders and handed his daughter to a traitor like the new island lord.
Let’s see... Time to toss some bait first.
The timeless truth to befriend someone else’s brat: start with food, right?
Once the guard’s down, stroking the exposed belly is child’s play.
“Haha, I’ve unintentionally caused trouble for your daughter, Clan Leader.”
“Trouble?”
“Oh, it seems you haven’t been informed separately.”
“…….”
“Truth is, with some time on our hands during our stay, my man got drunk while sightseeing Haenam Island and committed a grave blunder against your daughter.”
“Blunder? Ah! You mean the bumping incident?”
“Yes. He was rude, so he deserves punishment, but given his status...”
“Status?”
“Yes. He may look like a beggar, but to the Beggars’ Sect Leader, he’s a youngest disciple as dear as the apple of his eye.”
“…….”
“Word is, he’s even eyed as the next successor... For such a man to be dragged to the fortress prison and suffer—who knows...”
“……!”
Feigning distress, Yu Hyun smirked inwardly.
I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. His greed’s piercing the heavens...
“Could it be... you’re asking for leniency now?”
“…….”
Already biting?
The guy’s that desperate, huh.
Since you asked, have a taste.
But not all of it. Just a taste—if he gobbles it all, what’s left to crave?
Slowly, slowly...
I’ve got plenty to learn from you right now.